Toolholder



J. E. POWER July 18, 1950 TOOLHOLDER Filed Aug. 28, 1947 JNVEN'I'OR. dis/1E6 f. Pan 7? JTTORNEY Patented July 18, 1950 1 UNITED) STATES PATENT OFFICE TOOLHOLDER James E. Power, EastBridgewater, Mass.

Application August 28, 1947, Serial No. 771,089, 2 Claims. (01.29-80) This invention relates to hand tools, and in particular to handles or holders for such tools while in use. i

'- 'Hand tools of many sorts, especially those having-a prolonged working surface such as'fil'es, are conventionally provided with elongated handles of round section applied to one end of the tool only, as by being fitted onto a tang integral with the tool at one end thereof. Such a handle provides only for the grip of one hand, and in use the other hand must grasp the naked blade of the file without any handle or other protective device, in order to guide it accurately in its working stroke. In addition to the risk of injury to the hand thus left unprotected, this manner of holding the file makes it almost impossible to file a fiat surface, and is a cause of dis-comfort and serious inconvenience in many other situations.

With the object of remedying these and other drawbacks and additionally facilitating the use of the file or other tool, the invention provides a holder or handle which is affixed to the file within the length of the latter without obstructing the surface of the file which is in use, and without requiring any structural changes or modification of the file itself, and which has sufficient extent lengthwise of the file to permit it to be gripped by both of the users hands when spaced apart lengthwise of the tool, whereby the stroke of the file can be fully controlled. Other objects of the invention, and their manner of attainment are as made plain hereinafter.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the holder with a portion of a file fixed therein, Fig. 2 a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 a corresponding section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, omitting the file, Fig. 4 a side elevation of one of the clamping elements employed in the holder, and Fig. 5 a plan view of the parts of Fig. 1.

The improved handle or holder l comprises two separate and preferably identical halves 3, 3, of any desired length sufiicient to permit the grip of both hands thereon, each half 3 having its inward surface 5 plane and its outward surface rounded oif at the top, side, and ends, and also undercut at 9 half way down the sides and ends so that when put together these outward surfaces will fit the hands of the user comfortably and afford a secure grip thereof on the holder. The bottom surface H of each half 3 is plane, but disposed at slightly more than a right angle to the inward surface 5 of each half.

Aligned holes are bored in the two halves adjacent the ends thereof to receive screws l3 which pass freely through one half and are threaded into the holes in the other half, to fix the two halves together.

To fix the handle onto the file l5 or other tool, two or more clamping elements [l are provided each having spaced extremities forming gripping jaws l9 extending downward in slightly convergent relation and connected by integral offsets 2l with the intermediate resilient U-shaped portion or arch 23 of the clamp. Each of these clamps is received for a little less than half its width in an appropriately shaped slot 25 milled into each half 3 of the holder as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3.

The holder is applied to a file [5 or other tool at any desired point intermediate the length of the latter by simply unscrewing the screws l3 far enough to permit the halves 3 and the clamps H to spread a sufficient distance to let the file l5 be inserted flatwise between the gripping jaws I9 of the clamps l'l. Thereupon, retightening of the screws [3 causes the two halves 3 to approach each other, forcing the sides of each arch 23 closer together and causing the gripping jaws l9 to grip the lateral sides of the file l5 with a powerful and secure grip, thus affixing the handle I securely to the file.

Because the slots 25 which receive the U- shaped portion 23 of each clamp ll are made shallower at points adjacent the juction of the offsets 2| with the legs of the U defined by the arch 23, and deeper at points adjacent the bend of the arch, clamps I! are prevented from being pulled out of the holder because of the constriction at these points of the recess formed conjointly by the two associated slots 25 for the reception of the arch'of each clamping member H; the arch bein wider above these first-named points, the clamping member cannot be drawn out of its recess while the two halves 3 are clamped tightly together, as is shown in Fig. 2.

With the handle or holder thus constructed applied to a file as shown in Fig. l, the filing of a flat surface is easily effected, since no part of the handle or connecting means extends below the plane of the working surface of the file, nor do the users fingers, since they grip the handle I which is well above such plane. The improved handle also facilitates the use of the file in other locations, as in filing work mounted and rotating in a lathe, where it enables the operator to make even strokes in succession, thereby effecting an equal amount of stock removal with each stroke.

The improved handle or holder can be applied in similar manner to other tools, such as scrapers, laps, or even abrasive paper wrapped around a metal bar or stick of wood.

While I have illustrated and described a certain form in which the invention may be embodied, I am aware that many modifications may be made therein by any person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the particular form shown, or to the details of construction thereof,

but what I do claim is:

1. A holder for files and other tools having in combination rigid separable handle members, one-piece U-shaped clamping elements between the handle members each gripping by its extremities the opposite lateral sides of the tool,

each clampin element being bent at right angles combination bowed tool-clamping members each clamping by its extremities the lateral sides of the tool, rigid separable handle members having complementary grooves cut in the handle members in planes at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the tool receiving the bowed portion of each clamping member, the grooves being deeper at points adjacent the bend of each clamping member than at points more remote from such bend to prevent withdrawal of the clamping member from such grooves, and means forcing the handle members together to grip the clamping members and to force the extremities of the lattefinto gripping relation with the sides of the tool.

JAMES E. POWER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

. UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS Number Name Date- 1',05'7,947' Dietz Apr, 1. 1913 1,200,158" Barrett Oct: 3; 1916 1,375,634 Hanigan Apr. 19, 192l 1,872,095 Romano et a1. Aug. 16; 1932; 2199.223 Hastings Apr. 30,- 1940 

